Flush banded table top



Sept. 13, 1960 E. BRAAL ET AL FLUSH BANDED TABLE TOP Filed June 5, 1959 gnu-I...Inn-anunuunr-npanum jNVENTORS Emazz .Braal Bety'amin loom BY d/ gzsmazzwa ATTORNEY FLUSH 'BANDED TABLE TOP Eman Braal and Benjamin J. m, Grand Rapids, Mich.,

assignors to American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, MiclL, a corporation of New Jersey Filed June 5, 1959, Ser. No. 818,395 3 Claims. (Cl. 311-107) The present invention relates to top construction for tables, desks and the like.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide an improved top construction wherein a decorative edge band or molding is applied around the peripheral edge of the top panel, said decorative edge molding being flush with the top panel. The invention is similar to that disclosed in Patent No. 2,805,907 issued September 10, 1957 to Benjamin J. 00m and by him assigned to our assignee.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a table top constructed according to the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical sectional view of parts thereof taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view of the same taken on line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a length of stock herein called the inner rim;

Figure 5 is a greatly enlarged vertical cross-section through a portion of the outer rim;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a length of extruded stock from which the outer rim is made; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a length of completed outer rim stock.

Referring now in detail to these drawings the table top shown in Figures 1-3 generally comprises a top panel 10 which may be of solid wood, plywood, plastic laminate or other suitable material, an inner 11 preferably fabricated from steel stock of required strength, and an outer rim 12 preferably fabricated of aluminum which possesses good structural and also decorative characteristics.

The inner rim 11 is formed so as to provide an upstanding outer wall 13 having an upwardly-inwardly inclined shoulder 14 along its upper edge and a downweirdly-inwardly inclined lower portion 15. An upper flange 16 extends directly inwardly from the shoulder 14, and a lower flange 17 extends directly inwardly from the lower portion of the inner rims outer wall 13. When formed into a rectangular frame for the support of a table top panel as seen in Figure 1, this inner rim =11 possesses great rigidity and provides the structural element to which legs, standards or other supporting structure (not shown) may be rigidly connected. The shoulder 14 of the inner rim is pierced with spaced elongated apertures 18 therealong which are desirably equidistant.

The edge molding or outer rim 12 is initially produced as an aluminum extrusion as seen in Figure 6, having an upstanding outer wall 19 the bottom marginal edge 20 of which is inclined slightly downwardly-inwardly as best illustrated in Figure 5, an inwardly extending upper flange 21 spaced below the upper edge of the outer wall 19, and

, 2,952,496 Patented Sept. 13, 1960 an inwardly-downwardly extending medial flange 22 running intermediate the top and bottom of the outer rims outer wall 19. Subsequent to extrusion of this outer rim 12, portions of its medial flange 22 are cutaway so as to leave equidistantly spaced, inwardly-downwardly extending fingers 22a adapted to register with the apertures 18 in the shoulder 14 of the inner rims outer wall 13.

The top panel 10 is provided with a groove 23 in its peripheral edge intermediate the top and bottom surfaces of the panel, said groove being proportioned so as to snugly receive the upper flange 21 of the outer rim 12, with the extreme upper edge of the outer rims outer wall 19 flush with the upper surface of the top panel. The inner surface of the outer rim above the continuous upper flange 21 is inclined downwardly-outwardly to insure continuous contact of the upper inner edge of the outer rim with the upper outer edge of the top panel.

After the top panel 10 has been cut to the desired size and shape and provided with the peripheral groove 23, and the inner rim 11 and outer rim 12 have been cut to required length and formed, the parts are assembled as best seen in Figures 2 and 3. The top panel 10 is placed with its under marginal edge adjacent the inner rims upper flange 16. The outer rim 12 is then placed with its upper flange 21 fitted into the groove 23 of the top panel, and with the outer rims fingers 22a projecting inwardly-downwardly through the apertures 18 in the inner rims shoulder 14. Finally the inner end portions of the fingers 22a are deformed preferably by twisting them as seen in Figures 2 and 3. This operation draws all of the parts together with the top panel 10 securely clamped between the flanges 21 and 16 of the outer and inner rims respectively. This final operation also draws the upper inner edge of the outer rim 12 into snug, flush engagement with the upper outer edge of the top panel, and flattens the lower marginal edge 20 of the outer rim into continuous contact with the upstanding outer wall of the inner rim 11. Thus there are no open joints between any of the parts.

It will thus be seen that the invention provides a flush metal banded top having a smooth upper outer edge, and while but one specific embodiment of the invention has been herein shown and described it will be understood that numerous details may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. A top construction for a table or the like, comprising: a top panel having a groove in its peripheral edge intermediate the top and bottom surfaces of the panel and parallel to said top surface; a metal inner rim having an upstanding outer wall provided with apertures therethrough and having an upper flange extending from the upper edge of its outer wall inwardly adjacent the under marginal edge of said top panel for supporting the top panel; and a metal outer rim having an upstanding outer wall and a continuous flange extending inwardly from said outer wall in parallelism with said outer walls upper edge and spaced below said upper edge a distance equal to the distance between said top panels top surface and the groove in said top panels peripheral edge, said continuous flange fitting snugly into and filling said groove whereby the upper edge of the outer rims outer wall lies flush with the top surface of the top panel, and integrally formed fingers extending from its outer wall inwardly through the apertures in the outer wall of the inner rim, said fingers having their inner end portions deformed to clamp the aforesaid parts in assembly.

2. A top construction for a table or the like according to claim 1 in which the inner surface of the outer rim above the continuous fiange fitted in the peripheral groove of the top panel is inclined downwardly-outwardly to insure continuous contact of the upper inner edge of the outer rim with the upper outer edge of the top panel.

3. A top construction for a table or the like according to claim 1 in which the lower marginal edge of the outer rim is inclined inwardly prior to assembly of the parts to insure continuous contact of said lower marginal edge 10 2,805,907

with the upstanding outer wall of the inner rim.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Gunn June 21, 1921 Gloeker Mar. 27, 1928 Fitch et a1. Nov. 6, 1928 Goldsmith Sept. 18, 1951 Hickman Sept. 18, 1951 Morgan et al. Sept. 6, 1955 Oom Sept. 10, 19 57 

